I've rented cars on and off for ~15 years, my experience: there are certainly regional differences but renting has certainly got shittier and shitter over the years, perhaps skewed by my experience in Europe:
- Car class inflation (cheaper models, models being bumped up a category i.e. "Luxury" not actually being Luxury)
- Instead of raising prices sufficiently, they use 'damage' as a revenue stream more and more
- Reticence to give you a printed paper contracts, making it harder to inspect them.
- Far less thorough damage recording. It's like they just delete existing damage in the records at the beginning of the rental. I always get a blank damage sheet when I rent.
- Higher and higher mileage vehicles
- Bigger and bigger deposits and damage excess ("co-pay")
- Dynamic Currency Conversion scam
- Fuel recharge scam
This isn't just a post-pandemic cost-recovery thing. Renting was getting shittier in the years prior
- Car class inflation (cheaper models, models being bumped up a category i.e. "Luxury" not actually being Luxury)
- Instead of raising prices sufficiently, they use 'damage' as a revenue stream more and more
- Reticence to give you a printed paper contracts, making it harder to inspect them.
- Far less thorough damage recording. It's like they just delete existing damage in the records at the beginning of the rental. I always get a blank damage sheet when I rent.
- Higher and higher mileage vehicles
- Bigger and bigger deposits and damage excess ("co-pay")
- Dynamic Currency Conversion scam
- Fuel recharge scam
This isn't just a post-pandemic cost-recovery thing. Renting was getting shittier in the years prior